When to ask for help from Congressmen / women

[K.Robert 0]

Just sent my I-129F in

In reading through the forms I see where VJ's have gone to their local representitaves for help when USCIS sends RFE's or cases sit for a long period of time without touches.

I have checked out the search function but cant find what I am curious about.

When is it advised to seek help from our elected officials and most importantly how do we go about asking for help.

My search did not turn up a "time to call the congressman / woman FAQ"

[mybackpages 0]

Normally if you are outside the processing dates for your service center (6 months for K-1) or if you have some other problem that arises and can not get USCIS to resolve the matter.

[William33 110]

What is your timeline?

[K.Robert 0]

Timeline Check.

Lot of information here to look through.

--------------------------------------------------

Service Center : Texas Service Center

Consulate :

I-129F Sent : 2007-03-19

I-129F NOA1 :

I-129F RFE(s) :

Edited March 20, 2007 by K.Robert

[Otto 83]

Planning Ahead Are Ya? heh..heh...

[TimsDaisy 0]

You can always call your congressman/woman's office and ask to speak to someone about the process and their experience helping other couples with problems. They will let you know if it's too soon or the right time for them to take significant action on your case.

As mentioned above - many/most/but not all will refer to the official processing dates as a guide for when to officially inquire about your case. If you're outside of that time line (which, yes, is longer than the data here on VJ indicates), they will take action. If you're under that time, they may or may not. If you feel like something has gone wrong - you received a request for evidence that you can't understand, they completely lost your paperwork, something that's outside of the experience of the people here, or you're just utterly confused about something, call them!

The US Citizen half of the couple should look up his/her member of congress or senator. To find your MOC - go to the House Of Representatives website at www.house.gov. There's a box in the upper left corner for your zip code (people in high density urban areas may need their zip code +4, those extra numbers you probably see on your bills and other mail. Just worry about that if your zip code yields more than one member, the extra 4 digits will narrow it down). (Your senator - each state has 2 - you can find at www.senate.gov).

Congressmen/Senators have Capitol offices (in Washington DC) and District offices, in their district (in your/close to you hometown). Normally, offices are organized so that they have staff members dedicated to case work who work out of the district office. Contact your member's district office (probably a local phone number) and ask for the person who handles immigration case work.

Have all your relevant documents in front of you. Explain your problem and what kind of help or information you are looking for. Remember that congressional staffers are human, overworked, and underpaid - probably just like you, right? They aren't miracle workers. They don't necessarily have a special USCIS hotline on their desk. They are managing the cases of potentially a lot of couples. Don't berate them. They may work for someone who did or did not vote for a particular aspect of immigration law. But they DID NOT write the regulations that drive most of us the most nutty. Watch your language. You'll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

So - bottom line: until you hit a significant road block or until your timeline starts to deviate SIGNIFICANTLY from the data reported here, it's probably too soon to call your congress/senatorial office to ask for help. I'll tell you that if I get to 120 days, I'm calling for sure.

Remember too, though, if you have questions, or feel better just talking to them, feel free to call. They are our representatives, here to serve us, they'll take your call, and you have every right to call them whenever you want.

Hope that helps.